Don’t expect to see Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell in the Octagon anytime soon, and certainly don’t expect him to see him take on Rich Franklin at UFC 103 in September, (which was a hot rumor recently that likely sent thousands of MMA die-hards into frenzied keyboard debates across the world) as according to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross, Liddell won’t be fighting until at least April, 2010.
In the story Liddell states that he has not made a “decision one way or another,” regarding his possible retirement, and that he feels he needs “at least a year or so” off to recover. The former light-heavyweight champion has lost 4 of his last 5 fights and has been stopped in 3 of them.
Last September, Liddell’s knockout at the hands (or right overhand to be more specifically) of Rashad Evans, was almost as unsettling as watching human replicas getting bludgeoned on every episode of Spike’s “Deadliest Warrior.” (A show where Liddell demonstrated, actually, that his punches are almost capable of turning human bones into dust)
Then this past April, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua dropped Liddell in the first round of their UFC 97 bout, prompting Dana White to do the old ‘don’t worry dude I’ll handle this,’ and announce that “The Iceman’s” career was done. In regards to that fight, Liddell stated in the SI story:
“The shot last fight is something that normally wouldn’t hurt me. I think I need at least some time off from getting hit. I’m going to take time off sparring then. I’ll train still. Still gonna roll. I’ll probably do a little more jiu-jitsu than normal because I like it. It’s fun.”
So with Liddell having not made up his mind, and with White continually stating now that because he did not provide the ‘seeds’ for Liddell’s birth, he will not be the one to determine whether or not the former champ retires, it looks as though it will be a few more months before a decision is rendered.
Really it would seem as though taking some time off is the prudent thing to do. Stepping right back in against Franklin might have been like taking a frying pan to the head to cure a headache.
